


Hair Appreciation

by saltylikecrait



Series: The Time Between [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, F/F, Friendship, Haircuts, Jealousy, Side Pairing Finnrose
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-12-26 23:23:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18292286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: Rey realizes how much their relationship has changed once she noticed Finn's new style.





	Hair Appreciation

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Hair Appreciation Day!

It wasn’t something she had noticed right away because it had been a gradual change. Finn had made no announcement that he intended to let his hair grow out, but after about six months without a haircut except to style the new length in a way that worked for him, the change was noticeable.

For months, Rey could only imagine Finn with hair cropped to meet First Order standards. This new style almost made him look like a different person, though Finn stayed the same on the inside. It took her a few days, but she finally realized that for him, his hair was an easy way for him to exercise his new freedom, and she felt happy for him.

She liked the twists that bordered his hairline and how it made him seem less like a soldier and more like a person. Rey thought she should tell him this, but every time she thought to, she found herself at loss for words and desperately trying hard not to appear like an idiot in front of him. It made her flustered and frustrated and she couldn’t figure out why she suddenly lost her nerve around him. 

It took a glance at Finn and Rose walking hand-in-hand through the hangars of their latest base for Rey to make the connection. Her heart constricted in her chest at the sight of them. As much as Rey hated to admit this, sometimes she imagined herself in Rose’s place and felt angry at herself. Shouldn’t she be happy for Finn being happy? That sounded like it should be right, but Rey felt the exact opposite. Some days, she wanted to yell at him from across the room to _please notice her,_ but that was silly, and Rey knew this. Finn was always the first person in any room to notice her, even when she was silently trying to blend into the background out of her own discomfort.

And even if she tried to forget about Finn and move on, he always did _something_ that made it impossible to keep her heart from fluttering and her longing at bay. Whether it was checking on her with a meal in his hands because he knew that she hadn’t taken a break during her long hours of studying the Force or offering his help on missions, he made it so hard to get over him. And now, with the new hairstyle, all she could think about was how handsome he looked and how distracting it was and how it made all these feelings she was trying to quiet make themselves known again. How she would give anything to be in Rose’s place…

She was so focused on her own internal anger towards herself that she didn’t notice that she was about to walk right into the person of her affections until it was too late.

“Oh, woah,” she heard Finn say as he stepped back to avoid stepping on her feet. He balanced a box in his hands. “Hey, Rey.”

“Finn,” she looked him up and down. “I-" Her voice stuttered, and she mentally kicked herself. She glanced at his hair again and dared herself to tell him. “I-"

Words weren’t forming.

He stared at her and his brows knitted together in concern. “Something wrong?”

“Uh, no,” she tried to save herself. “Just… lost in thought.”

“Didn’t mean to startle you,” he apologized. “I was looking for you, actually.”

Her heart sped up and she willed herself to not let her face seem too hopeful. “You were?”

“Black Squadron is going to put on a few old holo classics soon. Thought to ask you if you wanted to watch since neither of us have seen these.”

“Oh.” She thought for a moment. It was just like Finn to think of her, though it wasn’t quite what she was hoping for… Actually, she wasn’t sure what she had been hoping for.

“Sure, I’ll watch a holo with you,” Rey finally answered.

He beamed. “Great, I’m heading there now. We can walk together. Mind if I drop these off at my bunk?” He rattled a box, which didn’t sound heavy judging by whatever was in there was rolling around. “Gotta drop these connectors off at Communications tomorrow. They can wait.”

Rey nodded again, and she followed him through the corridor to where he bunked. He shared quarters with a few others and while the space was cramped and sparse in décor, it was easy for Rey to tell which bunk was Finn’s. He kept his area tidy while the other three beds were left in a state of what Rey would consider chaotic at best.

After setting the box on the floor near his bunk, Finn turned around to glance into a small mirror hung on the wall behind him and moved one of the twists until it was back to how he liked it.

“What made you choose this style?” she asked, out of curiosity.

He shrugged. “Not sure, really. I asked a couple of guys around the base with hair like mine and they showed me a few styles and told me where to go to have someone do them. After looking through a few ideas, this one stuck with me and I decided to give it a try.” Finn looked in the mirror. “Not sure about this yet, though.”

Surprised, Rey asked, “You don’t like it?”

Shrugging again, Finn shook his head. “It’s not that,” he explained. “More like... it’s different. I would have never gotten away with this back in the Order. Now whenever I feel the top of my head, it’s strange to feel hair there, at least, hair that’s longer.” He patted the top of his head to illustrate this, then laughed.

She stared at him again and felt happy to see him laughing like this, even if it was over something like hair. 

“I think you look hands- _great!”_ She almost covered her mouth with her hands to stop herself. Clearing her throat, she tried again. “I think it looks really nice on you, Finn. I mean it.”

He looked her up and down, smiling knowingly at her reaction. “Well then, if you think it makes me look _handsome,”_ he grinned widely, “I’m definitely keeping it like this for a while.” She might have thought he was teasing her if he didn’t seem so serious about it. The way his eyes gazed into hers almost made her feel like she was held in a trance. She didn't want to look away.

Rey felt more confused than ever before.

“So that holo, huh?” Finn changed the subject and she couldn’t have been more grateful. He was still smiling, though.

Blinking, Rey glanced around the room awkwardly. “Right. Yeah. The holo.”


End file.
